If a lately granted patent makes it into the Apple Watch—and so they typically don’t—then a future gadget could possibly robotically color-coordinate with any band and even your clothes or equipment.
The patent, filed in July of 2021 and simply granted on August 22, 2023, describes methods during which a future Apple Watch would possibly have the ability to change the colour of its face to match your band, or virtually anything.
For official Apple watch bands, the gadget (the Apple Watch) might determine precisely which band you might have, matching the show to it from a predetermined record. However for non-official bands, or certainly some other object like your clothes, purse, jewellery, or equipment Apple has a extra refined methodology in retailer.
The patent describes a lightweight sensor behind the show (just like the ambient gentle sensor on as we speak’s Apple Watches). You’ll maintain your Apple Watch withstand the article you wish to measure (your tie, for example), and the show would cycle via emitting a collection of particular colours whereas the sunshine sensor measures how a lot gentle is mirrored again to it. An algorithm items collectively that knowledge to find out the precise shade.
However that’s not all! Apple even describes utilizing the capacitive show to assist decide the materials of what you’re measuring. This bit from the patent is very attention-grabbing:
Along with or as an alternative of gathering person enter to find out the suitable algorithm for figuring out the colour of exterior objects, management circuitry could use a sensor to assist classify exterior object and determine an acceptable algorithm for figuring out its shade. For instance, contact sensor could collect capacitive info whereas object is held over the show. This capacitive info could also be indicative of the kind of materials that object is product of Supplies with totally different dielectric constants will produce totally different responses from contact sensor
Supplies with a comparatively excessive dielectric fixed corresponding to steel could end in the next capacitive studying from contact sensor than supplies with a comparatively low dielectric fixed corresponding to cloth. After figuring out the kind of materials that object is created from based mostly on the capacitive sensor knowledge from contact sensor, management circuitry could choose which algorithm to make use of based mostly on the kind of materials and/or could in any other case slim down the potential outcomes that an algorithm could produce based mostly on the kind of materials.
In different phrases, totally different supplies require totally different algorithms to appropriately decide their shade. So the capacitive show could possibly decide if a floor is material, leather-based, steel, plastic, or one thing else by measuring the resistance on the capacitive contact display held in opposition to it. You can think about this additionally getting used within the ensuing watch face; match a steel object, and get a watch face with a faux-metal sheen to it, for example.
It’s unclear if this expertise is feasible utilizing simply the ambient gentle sensor that presently exists on Apple Watches underneath the OLED show. However we’d prefer to remind our readers that Apple information for and is granted patents on a regular basis that by no means make it into any product. This characteristic could by no means come to move, or it might be enabled by a future watchOS replace, doubtlessly restricted to particular Apple Watch fashions.
